Ombudsman clears Cagayan governor in illegal logging raps

The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba over the abuse of authority and illegal logging charges filed against him last year for supposedly ordering the cutting of trees felled by supertyphoon “Lawin.”

In a six-page joint resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dropped the charges filed against Mamba for allegedly ordering the cutting of about 50 Gmelina, mahogany, and other fruit trees within the capitol compound in Tuguegarao City.

“There is no contest that the cutting of Gmelina and mango trees within the provincial capitol compound and sports complex were covered by permits. There is no evidence though that there were other species of trees that were cut not covered by the permits,” the Ombudsman resolution said.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by provincial board member Christopher Barcena in June 2017, alleging that Mamba ordered the cutting of about 50 trees of various species supposedly without permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The governor also supposedly ordered the “bulldozing” of the remnants allegedly to destroy the evidence.

In his counter-affidavit, however, Mamba submitted two tree-cutting permits issued by the DENR, which supposedly included the removal of the tree stumps, and the clearing of trees felled by the typhoon in November 2016.

He also said the pruning of trees with low-lying branches, which hung over electric cables, were removed as they posed danger to the safety of the public.

The Ombudsman dismissed the complaint for “lack of merit.”

“There is no evidence that there was a writte or verbal instruction from (Mamba) to cut down tree not covered by the issued permits. The employees of the provincial government attest that the trees that were cut were those covered by the cutting permits issued by the DENR,” said graft investigator Allan John Atienza.   /vvp